How Trauma Can Trigger the Body

The Mind-Body Connection

I’ve always been fascinated by how closely the mind and body are connected — something often overlooked in medicine, and even in everyday life. I wanted to write this blog to highlight one story that powerfully illustrates that link.

It’s the story of Andrew, featured on BBC’s The Diagnosis Detectives with Dr. Michael Mosley. Andrew’s experience shows how emotional trauma can manifest in the body in very real, physical ways — and how even advanced medical technology sometimes struggles to keep up with the complexity of the human mind.

When Seizures Have No Clear Medical Cause

Andrew began experiencing daily seizures after a fall. At first, doctors suspected epilepsy, but after thorough testing, they ruled it out. Brain scans, EEGs, and neurological evaluations all came back normal. That’s when the team began exploring another possibility: Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) — a condition where the nervous system misfires, not because it’s damaged, but because it’s overwhelmed.

What Is Functional Neurological Disorder (FND)?

FND is a serious but often misunderstood condition. It causes symptoms that can look like those of a neurological disease — such as seizures, weakness, tremors, or speech problems — but with no physical damage to the brain or nervous system.

Here are a few key facts:

• FND is real and disabling, not imagined or “all in your head.”

• It’s often triggered by stress, trauma, or a physical illness.

• Standard scans and tests usually show no abnormalities.

• Treatment often includes psychological therapy, especially cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), rather than medication.

This makes FND challenging to diagnose. For many patients, it takes months or even years to get a proper explanation for their symptoms.

Andrew’s Trauma: A Hidden Cause Behind His Seizures

In Andrew’s case, the medical team on The Diagnosis Detectives eventually linked his seizures to emotional trauma. He had served in the army and experienced distressing, unresolved memories. Though he had moved on with his life, his brain hadn’t. It was still holding onto that trauma — and it was expressing it through physical seizures.

This is sometimes called an emotional circuit breaker: when emotions are too overwhelming for the conscious mind to process, the body steps in and “shuts down” to protect itself. That shut-down response, in Andrew’s case, looked like seizures.

Why This Story Matters

What struck me most about Andrew’s story — and what inspired me to share it — is how deeply the mind and body are connected. His case shows that mental health isn’t separate from physical health. What happens in the mind can and does affect the body in powerful ways.

FND reminds us that healing often requires looking beyond scans and lab tests. It requires listening to the whole person — including their emotional history. In a world that often separates mental and physical health, Andrew’s journey is a strong reminder that true health is holistic. The brain doesn’t just control our body — it responds to everything we go through emotionally, too.

🎥 You can watch Andrew’s journey on BBC’s The Diagnosis Detectives with Michael Mosley to learn more about Functional Neurological Disorder and the mind-body connection.

BBC The Diagnosis Detectives with Michael Mosley.